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The Naked Time (episode)
The Enterprise crew is infected by an inhibition-stripping virus. Summary The Enterprise orbits the planet Psi 2000, a world that was much like Earth in it's distant past, tasked to observed the planet's impending disintegration. Commander Spock and Lieutenant Junior Grade Joe Tormolen beam down in environmental suits to a frozen surface laboratory and investigate the horrific deaths of the lab's scientists. Carelessly, Tormolen removes a glove of his suit to better scratch his nose, unknowingly exposing himself to a liquid-like substance leaping to his exposed hand. The landing party returns to decontamination on the transporter pad, and further examination and clearance by Doctor McCoy. Tormolen's sudden anguish over the surface death scenes, something that didn't phase him previously, is brushed off with an order for him to rest. Captain Kirk and his senior officers discuss the possible causes of the madness displayed on the surface. Concerned about the planet's break-up and the crew efficiency needed to main a tricky orbit for their observations, Kirk asks if the surface tragedy could happen aboard the Enterprise. Spock admits to limitations in their scanning technology, but Mr. Scott is confident in his engines, as long as the bridge crew stays sane. Early stages of the planet's destruction begin. Tormolen, aggravated by his hand and sweating, sits in the mess. Entering in a jovial mood, Lieutenant Sulu tries to sell Lieutenant Kevin Riley on the virtues of fencing. An effort to bring Tormolen into the conversation triggers a hysterical response. Tormolen brandishes his table knife and rants about the futility of life in space. His mood quickly turns to despair and he turns the knife on himself. Sulu and Riley try to wrestle it away unsuccessfully, as Joe falls and impales himself. McCoy and Nurse Chapel fail to save Tormolen's life, leaving a confounded McCoy to speculate his patient had simply lost his will to live. Psi 2000's breakup accelerates, and the crew follows. Sulu and Riley, now at their conn stations and showing signs of infection, are slow in making a necessary orbital correction. Sulu abandons the helm in favor of some exercise. Riley becomes flamboyantly insubordinate to Spock, sporting an exaggerated Irish brogue. Reporting briefly to sickbay as ordered, Riley proceeds to flirt with Nurse Chapel, infecting her. Sulu, now fantasizing himself a musketeer, stalks the decks with a foil and frightens off two crewmen. Deeper in delusion, he returns to the bridge and takes Uhura, neither fair nor maiden, under his 'protection' before Spock subdues him with a Vulcan nerve pinch. The planet convulses, but the helm is unable to respond. A call to engineering is answered by 'Captain' Kevin Thomas Riley, who has expelled Scotty and crew and begun the ship-wide broadcast of a one-man musical/comedy show. Without power, the Enterprise is twenty minutes from destruction, and the affliction continues to spread throughout the crew. Chapel professes her love for Spock.]] Spock tours the ship, urging Scotty to hurry in re-taking engineering, observing the madness of crewmen, and checking on McCoy's progress. Chapel is emboldened, confessing her love for Spock and infecting him with the touch of her hand, affecting him quickly. After the insistent blurt, "I am in control of my emotions", he expresses sincere regret for not returning the affection from Chapel. Ignoring repeated hails, Spock begins losing composure in the corridors, and secludes himself in the briefing room for a complete loss of his emotional control. Engineering is recaptured, but Scotty discovers Riley has shut the engines down completely, a normal restart requiring at least thirty minutes. The Enterprise, now scraping Psi 2000's upper atmosphere, only has eight to spare. A cold-restart with a controlled matter-antimatter implosion in balanced engines is possible, but requires Mr. Spock's attention. Meanwhile, McCoy has discovered a cure for the affliction. Kirk finds his first officer in anguished reflection, regretting his inability to express love even for his mother. Kirk slaps him, and Spock admits to feeling shame over his friendship with the captain. Struck again, he responds in kind, sending Kirk backwards over a table, infecting him. Kirk haltingly advises Spock that he's better off without love, and rhapsodizes over his great affair, the Enterprise, and the price she exacts. Self-awareness returns to Spock, who proceeds to help Scotty with the restart. Kirk finds the strength to return to the bridge with quiet words to his ship, "Never lose you... never." longs for Rand.]] Taking the center seat, Kirk's orders are muddled, but a cured Sulu is able to plot the escape from orbit. With a hesitating reach, Kirk longs for his nearby yeoman, Rand, whom he can't touch but for duty. Spock and Scotty finish preparations, and the restart is engaged. The implosion is successful with an unexpected result, sending the Enterprise three days back in time. Perhaps deciding not to return to Psi 2000, Kirk orders a course ahead, warp factor 1. Background Information * The environmental suits Spock and Tormolen wore down on the planet's surface were, in real life, made of shower curtains. * The sensor device Spock carries was seen previously in "The Enemy Within" as Scotty checked out the ore on Fisher's uniform. * In a few sequences, the planet disappears from the view screen and the screen is blank. * A potential sequel for this episode written in May of 1967 by John D.F. Black would be rewritten some twenty-years later to become TNG: "The Naked Now". * Black's script is another important one for the series, again giving us more key background on Spock, but also establishing Kirk's conflict between his wish for a normal life and his passionate love for his ship. * When Eddie Paskey takes over the helm from the absent Sulu,Leonard Nimoy says, "Take over here, Rand." The name of the character was supposed to be "Ryan" according to the studio cast list. Nimoy made a minor gaffe here, referring to Grace Lee Whitney's character name by mistake. In fact, Paskey's character had no set identity until "The Conscience of the King". * This is the first episode in which Eddie Paskey has dialogue. Originally his character was to have said more lines. Not having any other acting job than being an extra, he was so nervous that a few of his lines had to be said by Spock instead. * This is also the only episode in which Frank da Vinci (Lt. Brent) has on-screen dialogue (four words). * Kevin Riley is the only crewman ever to activate a door by blowing on it! * Nurse Chapel appears to be watching a slide show of some sort when Riley surprises her. This was Majel Barrett's debut in the regular series, and establishes her love for Spock. * The dead woman's body on Psi 2000 was a mannequin. * The studio cast list contains "Crewman #1 and Crewman #2." This must refer to the two hapless men that Sulu chases with his sword. This means the extra who appears as "Bobby" in a number of first-season episodes is either Woody Talbert or Christian Ducheau. * George Takei had great fun acting in this episode, and took his fencing very seriously, avidly practicing his technique on the set and working out to define his chest muscles for his memorable scene in the corridor. * In his autobiography To the Stars, George Takei says this was his favorite episode. * In this episode and "Charlie X", the Jeffries Tube is located in a spur hallway. In the second season, the set piece had been moved to a main corridor. * This episode features the first reference to bulkheads in Star Trek. * This otherwise excellent episode has one of the silliest logic errors in the entire series: as Scott cuts through the bulkhead with a phaser to get to the engineering room door controls, with time running out, Spock comes along on the captain's orders to induce him to speed up. Scott then stops using the phaser to tell him that even if they were under attack, he couldn't move any faster! * The phaser does not produce a beam as Scott uses it, undoubtedly to save money on opticals, but blue sparks fly out of the cut in the wall to show the cutting action. A similar effect will be used in the third season in "The Way to Eden". * The lighted panels in sickbay and engineering did not contain lights that moved in patterns, rather, stage hands manipulated objects behind the panels to make it look as if the lights were shifting about. In The Naked Time and other episodes, you can see this money-saving trick in action, expecially in close-ups or in rooms on the sets that are well-lit. * From an aside to his assistant, we learn that Scott has his own office somewhere on the ship. * McCoy tears the sleeve on Kirk's uniform to inject him with the hypo, but this seems to have been done for dramatic effect only. In subsequent episodes, a hypo shot is delivered through clothing, most notably through a space suit in "The Tholian Web." * Only in this episode is the appearance of a meal from a food synthesizer accompanied by a puff of steam (or cold air). * Although the recreation room scene ends tragically, it is quite amusing as Sulu and Riley first walk in. Sulu the hobbyist has been trying to interest the navigator in his personal hobbies, botany and fencing, without much success! * This episode was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1967 as "Best Dramatic Presentation". * This episode shows the black collar of the crew's uniform is formed by a black undershirt worn beneath, as we can see with Spock and Tormolen in sickbay. In later episodes, the collar just seems to be sewn onto the shirt. Perhaps this change occured when the early veleur uniforms were discontinued because of their shrinkage problems. * Riley's call for "universal suffrage" is a clever pun. The term referred to gaining equal rights, particularly voting rights, for women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Riley's use of the term is particularly appropriate on a galaxy-traveling starship! Links and References Main Cast * William Shatner as Kirk * Leonard Nimoy as Spock * DeForest Kelley as McCoy * James Doohan as Scott * George Takei as Sulu * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura * Majel Barrett as Chapel * Grace Lee Whitney as Rand Guest Stars * Stewart Moss as Joe Tormolen * Bruce Hyde as Kevin Thomas Riley * John Bellah as Harrison (laughing crewman) * William Knight as Moody (amourous crewman) * Christian Ducheau as Crewman # 1 (uncredited) * Woody Talbert as Crewman # 2 (uncredited) * Frank da Vinci as Brent (uncredited) * Eddie Paskey as Leslie (uncredited) * Ron Veto as Harrison (uncredited) * William Blackburn as Hadley (uncredited) * Unknown actor as Bobby Memorable Quotes * "Uh, Lieutenant Uhura: you've interrupted my song.....I'm sorry, but there'll be no ice cream for you tonight." - "Captain" Kevin Thomas Riley * "There will be a formal dance in the... bowling alley at 2100 hours... In the future, all female personnel are to wear their hair loosely about their shoulders. And use restraint in wearing makeup; women -- women should not look 'made-up'." -- Some of "Captain" Riley's orders. * "No dance tonight." -- "Captain" Riley relieved of command. * "I'll protect you, fair maiden!" - Sulu "Sorry-- neither!" - Uhura * "Pity you can't teach me that." "Take D'Artagnian-here to sickbay." -- Kirk and Spock after the latter uses "the pinch" in subduing Sulu * "Get off me! You don't rank me and you don't have pointed ears, so just get off my neck!" - Joe Tormolen * "Captain - he's turned the engines off. They're completely cold. It'll take thirty minutes to regenerate them!" (over intercom)"Entering upper atmosphere, captain. Skin temperature now 2170 degrees." "Scotty!" "I can't change the laws of physics; I've got to have thirty minutes!" -- Kirk, Uhura and Scott * "We've got to risk implosion-- it's our only chance!" "It's never been done." "Don't tell me that again, science officer; it's a theory, it's possible! We may go up in the biggest ball of fire since the last sun in these parts exploded, but we've got to take that one-in-ten-thousand chance!" -- Kirk and Spock * "I'll never lose you. Never." - Kirk to the Enterprise References Alert B-2; Antimatter; Bowling alley; bulkhead; Environmental suit; Amanda Grayson; Intermix chamber; polywater; Psi 2000; Psi 2000 intoxication; Cardinal Richelieu; Naked Time, The de:Implosion in der Spirale fr:The Naked Time nl:The Naked Time sv:The Naked Time